Music: Wood Brothers speak the 'Truth'

Thursday

Feb 1, 2018 at 12:03 PM

By Jay N. Miller/For The Patriot Ledger

The Wood Brothers' musical careers were steaming along very nicely in their separate paths, which was only a problem because it limited the time they could spend making music together. Chris Wood, who studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, had become a well known jazz bassist, playing with the esteemed Medeski, Martin and Wood trio. Guitarist Oliver Wood was busy playing with several rock and blues groups, including King Johnson, after spending a number of years in the band of Tinsley Ellis.

But now the brothers are focusing on their Wood Brothers work, with a new album, "One Drop of Truth," just out today, and a tour that swings through Boston on Saturday night with a show at The House of Blues.

"This band is absolutely our main focus now," said Oliver Wood last week from his home outside Nashville. "We've actually been playing as The Wood Brothers for 10, maybe 12 years, but it did start out like an outside project, a side project for us both. Medeski, Martin and Wood was pretty full time for my brother, but over the last six to eight years we've been able to devote more time to this band, although we were living in different places. Now, with all of us (including multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix) located in Nashville, it is very helpful for songwriting and collaborating on the music."

The new album is full of the Americana style music that has endeared the band to music fans, with elements of rock, blues, country, folk, bluegrass and more all woven into the mix. It is no surprise that some reviewers have compared the new work to the best of The Band for its low key, laidback feel despite the obvious skill of the players.

"We had been compiling songs for a year or so," said Oliver Wood. "Previously our schedules would require us to record everything in a week or so, but now we have the luxury of being able to spread out the process. We recorded this like a succession of singles, not necessarily thinking about a whole album. That made it more fun, and I think more pure, and allowed us to experiment more. We were untainted by any pressure, or opinions from outside."

"When I say experimental, I don't mean we're trying to be avant-garde," Oliver added. "We just had the time and space to try things. In all our other times recording, we found deadlines tend to compromise things. We all had plenty of ideas, and we could toss 'em around, and then step back, listen and edit them, or re-do them. So, if we wanted to experiment with something, we did not feel as pressured."

That fresh approach also extended to recording and mixing the new material. Eventually the band would use several studios and four different mixers, including Grammy-winning engineer Trina Shoemaker, who worked with Brandi Carlile.

"We were not trying to just create a homogenous body of work here," Oliver explained. "It's just as alluring to have each song have its own feel. We do think there's a common thread to all these songs, although that was not consciously a goal - we were just writing about our life experiences over the past year or so. The different mixers and studios all had their own personality to add."

"Trina's work was so subtle it is hard to put into words," Oliver continued. "She just knows how to make a song speak, really makes the vocal heard. She has the knack of honoring the story, while making sure the music feels natural and honest. That's what I liked about her work on Brandi Carlile's records; somehow they draw you in. Trina just has an innate way of doing it, and sometimes you know you have to trust someone's ears. But all four of the mixers have their own style, and what's nice about having the different ones is that it presents these songs in different sonic worlds. We were certainly not interested in having all our songs sound the same."

One very striking number off the new album is "River Takes the Town," a haunting tale of extreme weather and how people respond and persevere through it.

"I think weather makes a great metaphor for all sorts of themes," said Oliver. "There are other things going on in that song, but there are also a lot of water-related things going on in this album. That was definitely a result of some of the weather extremes we had last year, at least unconsciously, in our choice of metaphors. There's a lot of flux involved, where water can either sustain you or overwhelm you."

Another tune that will certainly garner attention is the title cut, "One Drop of Truth," which seems to address topical matters, with lines like "I'd rather die hungry, than feasting on lies, give me one drop of truth, I cannot deny.."

"I think that song speaks for itself, but we all have trouble determining what is real and true these days," said Oliver.

"Happiness Jones" has been one song listeners have compared to The Band, one of many tunes here that reflect a struggle towards wisdom, an emotional battle towards finding meaning.

"That song might be a case of honoring the unhappy places that can, in fact, transform you in a positive way, because life isn't just all about happiness," Oliver said. "I think we need to recognize that."

The Wood Brothers have, on their various tours, opened for several other acts, including last summer the Tedeschi-Trucks Band, fronted of course by Norwell's Susan Tedeschi and husband Derek Trucks.

"Going on tour with them was very inspiring for us," said Oliver. "We've known Susan and Derek since they were teenagers. We're a lot older, but we've known them forever. It was awesome to be able to do a tour like last year's with such good friends, and we had a great time."

We pointed out that we'd just seen and talked with Tinsley Ellis, Oliver's old band leader.

"Tinsley gave me my first road gigs in the early '90s," said Oliver. "He's an amazing musician, and he showed me the ropes and was a wonderful mentor. In fact, that's how I first met Susan Tedeschi, when she opened a show for us at Harper's Ferry in Boston - and she was incredible even then."

This new album is the sixth from the Wood Brothers and performing at the House of Blues indicates that they've steadily built a loyal and enthusiastic fan base.

"It's been a long, slow ride to the middle," Oliver said, laughing. "I think we can really appreciate how we've had nothing too meteoric happen, but rather a gradual build-up. Our kind of music is not really built for stadiums, so we like the size and quality of these venues we're playing on this tour. With all the music we have out now, it is a challenge to play it all, and we will pepper our sets with some of the older stuff people are more familiar with, but we'll also play a lot of the new music."

"What's really fun is choosing a setlist so that we have a different show every time through a town like Boston," said Oliver. "We love doing that, and I think our audience likes it too."

Saturday's show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are priced at $25 and $35.